Ultrasone HFI-550

Editor's note: The Ultrasone's HFI-550 has since been discontinued and replaced by the Ultrasone HFI-780.

Ultrasone's HFI-550 headphones employ an interesting new feature called S-Logic technology that's designed to minimize the stuck-inside-your-head sound common to most headphones. The process uses decentralized transducer positioning to spread the sound over your outer ears; conventional headphones direct most of their sound to your inner ear.

Made in Germany, these $189 headphones have a professional heritage that's evident in their rugged build quality and pure, detailed sound. The HFI-550s weigh 9.3 ounces, and they fold down for convenient storage. They're fitted with a 10-foot cable terminated with a stereo 1/8-inch minijack (a screw-on 1/4-inch adapter is also included). The closed-earcup design blocks out ambient noise and prevents the headphones' sound from disturbing other people. Also, their highly efficient 50mm Mylar drivers are capable of extremely high volume levels. For $50 more, the HFI-550 Proline model is available; it's slightly heavier, and Ultrasone claims the beefier design reduces electromagnetic radiation by up to 98 percent.

We started rocking out to the beat of Aerosmith's Honkin' On Bobo CD, and the sound was wonderfully exciting and alive. Bass definition and power were excellent, easily surpassing our old Sennheiser HD 475 headphones. The HD 475s sounded cloudy and muddled next to the vivid HFI-550s.

Next up: our Grado SR125s. We immediately noted the 550s' bass was more muscular, but the SR125s' midrange and treble were smoother and less fatiguing. Ultrasone's slightly pricier HFI-650 headphones almost equaled the SR 125s' refinement and clobbered them in the bass department. If you're into bass, you'll love the HFI-650s.

But back to the HFI-550s: their big sound and freewheeling dynamic range added immensely to our enjoyment of the Goldmember DVD. The S-Logic's effort to make us forget we were listening to headphones wasn't completely successful, but the sound was definitely more open than with our reference Grado SR 125s. Finally, the HFI-550s sounded magical on our iPod, where the headphones' sound was alive and clear. Hide Review